Inseparable
by Nevercry
Summary: Satoshi issues a challenge. Tell the truth, or do whatever the other asks. Who will win the contest, and the artwork they've wagered? SatoshiDaisuke.
1. Inseparable

Ehehe. Um, this isn't complete, by a lot. And I have ideas for the beginning and ending, but suggstions for fluffy moments are gladly requested, received, and implemented.

* * *

Hiwatari Satoshi stood watching a set of rings, one with a sapphire set in silver and the other a ruby set in gold. The jewels were bound together with a thin, metal chain, only a few inches between them as they were displayed inside there timeless glass case. Twenty years had these two rings stood beside each other in ice - the glass case was covered in condensation, and Satoshi heard the low hum of the cooling refrigerating motor below the room.

He could also hear the not-so-distant cries of the officers outside this room. Dark was getting closer.

His breath was visible, creating a cloud around him as it sped up. He could feel it in his bones, as though Dark had a certain kid of gravity, pulling the boy in. Not that Daisuke didn't also have an attraction. It simply wasn't the same as Dark's. Dark was his prey.

Satoshi walked forward. This was the moment of anticipation, of knowing in his head and in his heart and in his bones that_ Dark is coming_.

He pressed his hand against the glass, and watched the fog spread beneath his fingers. Dark was in the corridor, behind him. This was what his entire life had led up to.

The door bust open, the sudden light giving the jewels of the two rings an unexpected gleam. Satoshi could feel Dark standing in the doorway, and said, "I'll make you a deal."

"What is it with you and deals, Commander?" Dark huffed, crossing his arms. He made a face at something his other half said inside their shared mind, and sniped, "Just get out of the way."

Satoshi felt a rush of jealousy, at both the pair's ease at the arrangement and Dark's ability to hear Daisuke's voice even then. He turned to face then, a scowl firmly in place. "Let Daisuke talk to me. He's more likely to listen."

"There's no way that -" Dark cut himself off, tilted his head, and sighed. "This is a bad idea."

His purple hair lightened to red, and he became shorter. Daisuke's constant, happy disposition was obvious even as he tried (and failed) to be serious and intimidating. Daisuke, transformed back, said, "What is it, Satoshi?"

Satoshi pushed his glasses up his nose with a finger of his right hand, not looking him in the eyes. "The deal is that you take one of the rings now, and we have a contest. You've come this far, so you can steal one - but wager it against mine. This will be a more evenly matched competition."

The response, delayed by a quick negotiation, was, "What is the contest?"

"A game of honesty." This was the risk: if they refused, Satoshi didn't know how he would be able to beat them. "Each day, one of us tells the other a secret. Every time one of us catches the other in a direct lie, we can do something. Whatever we do has to correlate in severity or magnitude with the lie. And we can never speak of it in school."

Daisuke pouted with concentration, making him look even cuter. "So… how do you win?"

"When the other refuses your punishment. It's a lot like Truth or Dare - tell the truth, or do the dare. If you're accused of lying, by the way, you have to prove that you aren't before you're excused from the dare."

Daisuke's eyes were darting back and forth as though he was reading the air. "What if we don't agree?"

"Krad." Satoshi's stomach turned over at the spoken name, but he didn't show it. Daisuke seemed to see, and understand, and Satoshi was grateful for that.

"We accept." Daisuke moved forward, each step echoing around the cold room. "But Dark says that you can't forget not to touch me." His steps became heavier, louder, and he said, "After all, I don't know what you'll do to me…" This was Dark, though he had the same red hair and the drawing eyes.

Satoshi's hackles rose. "Shut up, thief,"he spat. He knew that aura all too well, and Daisuke wouldn't say something like that. "I'm not letting _him_ out; I don't think it would be fair if it was two against one."

Dark pressed close to the currently taller boy, his breath brushing across Satoshi's cheek. "So you're telling me not to interfere? Won't you miss me?"

He was trying to get a reaction out of Satoshi, but it didn't work. "Tell me, Dark, can he still hear me?"

"No, he's off sulking. It's just you and me." Dark leaned in, almost touching their lips together. "Still got the hots for me, Commander, or do you like Daisuke more?"

One of Satoshi's hands gripped Dark's neck and the other his right wrist. He turned, slamming Dark in Daisuke's body against the cold glass. "I will say this once, and only once, Dark," Satoshi hissed, tightening his hold. "My interest in you is purely predatorial. Daisuke doesn't come into the equation."

Dark took one tiny gasping breath against the pale fingers, and cursed, "Damn this weak body. I don't know what you like about it. You should find another obsession, boy - you'll never have him."

"I'm not obsessed with anyone but you."

"You won't have me, either." Dark jerked, but didn't break away, and snarled, "You'll hurt his body. You'll hurt the body you so admire, because I'm him and he's me."

"You aren't him," Satoshi growled. "Don't ever think that you can be him."

Dark's eyes narrowed, his teeth bared. "What's the angle on this game of yours? It's not to get to me. You-" He smirked, saying, "He's back." His body went slack suddenly, eyes clouded with pain and confusion. Barely above a whisper, Daisuke choked, "Sato…shi…I can't…"

Satoshi was already releasing him, stepping back, letting Daisuke's wrist and body come away from the ice-cold glass. "I apologize."

Daisuke held his throat, which was burning red from the bruising contact. "I think I should get that ring before I go…" He turned away, studying the ice, trying to figure out how to break it. "Any ideas? Dark's not speaking to me."

Satoshi's fist flew past him and shattered the glass and ice, sending little pieces flying away from them. Daisuke twisted into the other boy's body for protection, because all the edges were too ragged. They cut up anything they touched.

Once the tinkling sound stopped, and everything settled, Daisuke realized that his right hand was being lifted up and a ring slipped on. "Remember," Satoshi insisted, a trail of red running down from a slash just below his eye, "Don't lie. There's only so much I can do to you before it's too much."

The redhead looked at the ring he now wore - such a pretty sapphire and silver - and back at Satoshi. "Are you sure this is okay?"

"Of course I'm sure." The taller boy held up his own hand, finger encircled with ruby and gold. "I'll get yours back soon anyway." The thin chain led from one ring to the other, and as they both stood inspecting it silently, they heard the footsteps racing down the corridor outside. "Go."

"But you're bleeding," Daisuke said, reaching up to his cheek. Satoshi slapped it away, shaking his head. Taken aback, the thief backed to window on the far side of the room and slammed through it, hands shielding where once Satoshi himself had. "See you, I guess!"

Wondering how he could stay upbeat while running from the police, Satoshi watched Daisuke go and wiped the blood away from his cheek. The door filled with silhouettes of his officers, all asking him questions, asking for orders. He turned away from the window and covered his hand with the unrolled cuff of his shirt. He had things to attend to.

* * *

As he sat before his glowing laptop screen, the clock flashed midnight. Satoshi sighed, closed the laptop, and took off his glasses. His father, the police commissioner, had not been pleased that he had failed, but there was nothing he could do. After all, Satoshi lived alone, safe from his adopted father's nightly bouts of fury and dismissal. 

He went to the window, saying to the moon, "I can't believe him. He probably still doesn't realize that everything my family turned out was magic." He looked, for the hundredth time, at the ring, still with a metal chain running away into a far distance to the southwest. There was no end in sight. "And this piece. Shouldn't he have asked what it was named? The rings are Inseparable. And now, we are, too."

Satoshi headed off to bed. Not even he suspected what wouldcome with the morning.

* * *

Review, and tell me if I should bother to continue it... I've rechecked it and edited some typos and errors. Tell me if you see any more. 


	2. Inaccurate

Heehee, I'm happy with how this turned out. There are some pretty cute moments. Once again, not beta-ed, so tell me if you find a mistake!

* * *

Satoshi opened his eyes, blinked at the sun, the red hair splayed across his pillow, and the hand in his (in that order), and then fell back into a stupor. Ten minutes later, he opened his eyes again, something about the first image kicking his brain into a reluctant second look. 

Daisuke was asleep, face close to his, a blissfully happy lopsided grin on his lips. Their knees were overlapping, tangled together, Daisuke's plaid burgundy flannel pajamas and Satoshi's navy silk ones making an odd contrast and texture. Last but not least, their hand were clasped together, rings touching, chain hanging limp down to the sheet.

Satoshi closed his eyes for another five minutes, opened them again, and croaked, in a voice strangled with sleep, "Daisuke."

The redhead ran his tongue over his lips, mumbled something about Wiz not doing that to his feet, and was quiet.

"Daisuke, wake up. School is in an hour." Not getting even a twitch out of him, Satoshi reached up with his other hand and grabbed the sleeping boy's nose between his thumb and finger. "You're practically on top of me."

Daisuke made a face, nuzzled further into the pillow (most of which was suspiciously similar to smooth skin) and gave a tiny gasp. He shot up, looked around, and jumped from the bed. "Satoshi! Wha - when - Why…why am I in your room? And why were we," he paused to tweak his abused nose, tears in his eyes, "sn-snuggling?"

"Do you want a guess?" Satoshi said, sitting up and reaching automatically for his glasses on a side table. "I think Dark couldn't resist the temptation, took control of your body, and had his way with me while you and I were both asleep."

Before he could stop himself, Daisuke yelled, in a very Dark-ish way, "_You take that back!_"

Satoshi bit his tongue to keep back a yawn and shifted under the satin sheets. "If you want what I really think, you should find the name of the rings you were trying to steal and then draw your own conclusions. Right now, I think your should be getting ready for school, since I don't need to. School starts in an hour and it takes twenty minutes to walk there. I woke up on time, for me, but you take roughly half an hour longer." He pulled the covers back, swung his legs over the side, and stood. "You're welcome to use my shower and borrow a uniform."

Daisuke blushed furiously, mumbled a thank you, and dashed out of the room. Satoshi knew how long he took to get ready in the morning? And he was being _nice_? What was going on? He really, really hoped that Dark would clear this up.

Satoshi watched him leave, finally succumbing to laughter. Daisuke had looked so flustered! He dressed quickly, running his hands through his hair in lieu of a brush or comb. He wasn't big on preparation. By the time that was done, Daisuke walked, still dripping, out of the shower, towel wrapped firmly around his waist.

Satoshi stared. Daisuke was so very… beautiful, his mind supplied, but that wasn't it. He wasn't like a piece of art, either; he wasn't fragile, or womanish. He was rough around the edges, had lived a hard life of sorts. He was strong, he was energetic, _and he was alive_.

Daisuke was starting to become uncomfortable with the attention. Satoshi had a look of intense concentration -almost anger - etched onto his features as though in stone. "Satoshi, um…"

The Commander shook himself and grabbed an extra school uniform, holding it out without a word. This was not going to go well if he couldn't keep his tongue in his mouth. He left the room so that his guest could dress in peace, and only cautiously started breathing again. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Well, they had made it on time. That was enough to be thankful for. 

The instant Daisuke walked through the door, Riku rushed up to greet and interrogate him. "Daisuke, your mom called me this morning and said that you weren't in your bed! Where were you?"

Daisuke glanced at Satoshi, winked, and asked her bemusedly, "Why did she think I was at your and Risa's house?"

"Because…she…" Riku's face turned beet red and she turned away, muttering, "She hung up in the middle of a sentence, saying there wasn't any way…"

Thus, there wasn't any real commotion made over the two boy's dual arrival.

* * *

Daisuke insisted on sitting next to him at lunch. Horrified that Satoshi was all set to eat toast, Daisuke not only shared his lunch, he gave Satoshi three out of the six bento boxes his mother had prepared for him and delivered during the morning (with much love and kisses). 

Satoshi gazed at them blankly, not sure where to start. He hadn't eaten this much at one time since… the last time he had eaten at the Niwa's house. "Daisuke, this is too much for me again."

The redhead, sapphire ring glinting in the sun, said, "Well, eat until you burst. Mom scolds me if I don't eat everything, and she made lots more today because she was worried."

"You're using me for personal gain. How underhanded." Satoshi took a pair of chopsticks from the lid of the box and speared some tempura. "Anyway, you have no obligation to me. Why are you here?"

Mouth full, Daisuke sputtered, "You have to tell me about the rings."

Satoshi took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose between two fingers, sighing. Daisuke's eyes followed the movement, had tilted to the side. "If you're going to be lazy and not learn about it yourself, fine. The rings are called Inseparable. No matter how far apart they are, this chain," he tugged on the end connected to his own jewelry, "will always tighten and bring the two back together. That's pretty much it." Only it wasn't, he told himself. Not really.

"I guess that makes sense," Daisuke nodded, still chewing. Satoshi saw that he had a smear of soy sauce across his left cheek and had to look away. "Oh, oh, hey, Satoshi! You have to tell me a secret!"

The blue-haired boy's mindblanked for a moment, and then remembered. Right, the contest. He had to tell something, too. "Let's see, something you don't know… Well, I've never had a close friend that I was comfortable around."

Daisuke sobered immediately, smiled dropping off as though torn. "You mean, besides _me_."

"No, I don't," Satoshi sighed, watching the sadness gather and cursing his careful wording. He wasn't comfortable around Daisuke in the least, so that was true, but the way he said it made it mean something else altogether…

He had to use this contest as a way to distance them. Once Daisuke knew all his secrets, they wouldn't be anything but hunter and prey. Right?

Gods, but it hurt him to see Daisuke try to smile again. He wasn't even going to accuse him of cheating. Perhaps Daisuke was afraid of having it proved that Satoshi wasn't his friend? No, that would be too good to be true.

Daisuke said quietly, "I guess it's my turn. I'm not sure that this is where I wanted to be at my age."

Satoshi regarded him critically for a moment, and shook his head. "That's a lie. You have always wanted to live up to your family's great legacy. You have always, always wanted to be the Phantom Thief, even if you couldn't put those words to it before."

Daisuke made a disbelieving face and accused, "I didn't say anything when you said your secret, did I?"

"You questioned me on it."

"You straight out called me a liar!" Daisuke huffily stood to leave, and Satoshi put a hand on his leg to stop him.

"It's only recently that you've started to doubt, so you question your younger self, thinking that there has been no time that you haven't had scruples." Satoshi took a carefully folded paper out of a clip in his notebook and showed it to the other boy. "See here, you drew it when you were still young."

The picture was of a child with undeniably red hair in all directions (though that may have been the crayon marks outside the lines), wearing a ninja's black outfit and sneaking around a mansion that was colored dark blue to show that it was nighttime. Daisuke took it, recognizing it as his own. "Satoshi, where'd you get this?"

The Commander shrugged and stood up, gathering his things and the bento boxes - of which he hadn't finished the first - and getting ready for the bell to classes to ring. "Your father, Kosuke, was conveiently looking at it the last time we conveniently bumped into each other in the street." He looked at Daisuke, still with the orange line of sauce on his face, and said, "You didn't think you were lying, so I guess I'll go easy on you. This is punishment enough."

Daisuke gave him a confused look, and they went back to class… to the entertainment of all.


	3. Inimitable

Satoshi listed back and forth, still half-asleep, as they walked down the street. "Daisuke, explain two things to me: Why are going to school so early, and, when told about the rings, why did you not bring clothes to change into?"

Daisuke raised his hands in apology, the sleeves of another of Satoshi's uniforms falling over his fingers. "I thought that maybe the little summoning thing would work in turns, like, first your house, then mine. I'm sorry…"

His glasses came off and were held above his head. Blue eyes looked through them into the glare of the sun, trying to kick start his brain. "I don't think you're doing my sleeping habits a lot of good. I feel as though I was at a raging party all night…"

The redhead grinned, walking backwards and in front of him to look at Satoshi, saying, "Actually, I've been wondering about that. Do you mind my asking a few questions?"

Satoshi blinked, nonplussed, and shrugged. This boy could steal art worth more than the U.S. state of Rhode Island and still ask permission to start a conversation? How very odd.

"Well, first, of course, is; How old were you when you graduated college?"

"I was twelve." Satoshi didn't look away from the eyes before him, staring daggers at the obscene energy being displayed so early in the morning.

"Have you ever gone to a college party?"

"No."

"But then how do you know how it feels-"

"A few guys in my forensics lab said it almost every day." Satoshi shrugged, noting with surprise that his shirt felt loose. Was he losing weight again? Oh. The last time he'd eaten was Daisuke's lunch the day before. And before that…? "I must have picked it up from them. It's nothing."

"So, were you friends with these 'guys'?" The quotation firmly fell into place, and Daisuke grinned like a cat.

Satoshi wasn't going to humor him. "No."

"What about other people? How many friends did you have?"

"None." Thank God, the school was finally visible at the end of the street. Divine intervention was going to change this line of questioning. Satoshi couldn't stop it himself; he had agreed, hadn't he? And he wasn't going to deny Daisuke.

The redhead in question looked as though he had been struck. "But college is four years-"

"-and I finished it in two-" Satoshi cut in smoothly.

"-and you didn't have a single friend?"

"I told you yesterday; I've never had a friend I've felt comfortable around. And I only have _one_ friend that I don't."

Daisuke's eyes widened, his foot slipped off the curb of the corner, and a blaring horn urged him to squeeze his eyes shut. When he opened them again, he lay sprawling across a very thin person. Satoshi's pale arm was around his shoulders and right hand on his waist, and Daisuke felt very… protected. Or claimed.

"Daisuke," Satoshi breathed, trying not to disturb him, "are you hurt?"

"N-no, I'm feeling great." Daisuke, painted red, stood as though electrocuted. "I mean, the car didn't get me. I'm fine."

"You should pay more attention," the blue-eyed boy said, twisting the ruby on the ring away from the ground as he pressed a fist to the concrete as leverage. "I'm not always going to be around to save you."

They walked in a pseudo-awkward silence the rest of the way to school. The mood was only lightened as they entered the classroom and Takeshi ran up to his best friend. "Nice to see you without food smeared across your face, Daisuke!"

Daisuke struggled against the arms holding his neck and cried, "Takeshi, I can't breathe…!"

"You're coming with me to stake out Piazza Bello tonight!"

"What? Why?" Daisuke asked just as loud (due to partial hearing loss). Takeshi was shaking him vigorously back and forth, giving him whiplash and a murderous headache.

"Dark is going to steal the Moglie della Notte," Satoshi helpfully supplied.

Daisuke whacked his forehead against a desk, hard, and whined, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Blue eyebrows rose, and Satoshi said evenly, "I thought everyone knew."

Takeshi struck a weeping-maiden pose and sobbed, "Satoshi, how about you call me the next time, so I won't have to race my dad for the phone every time it rings…?"

"I don't have the time," the Commander said, sliding into his seat. "You won't be able to get into the Piazza, by the way - there are officers crawling all over it as we speak. You shouldn't bother. If you sneak in, they'll catch you." Before Takeshi could say anything, he finished, "No, I won't help you if that happens."

As the girls cooed over his amazing ability to outguess Takeshi - Satoshi was mildly insulted - the teacher called the class to order. He spent the rest of the morning staring at Daisuke's head as he pondered unknowable things.

"You have to tell a secret, remember?" Daisuke said happily as he pushed a bento box into Satoshi's hands as he opened his own. He had had Takeshi pick them up from his house before school that day, showing at least a little forethought.

Satoshi rolled his eyes and ate a few bites, thinking. Well, better to go with an obvious one. "I have no artistic creativity."

"What? But Dark said that you can draw anything!" Daisuke yelped, almost dropping his lunch. Satoshi caught it and held it steady for him until he calmed down enough to continue, "I mean, you've helped me before. You copied over my entire painting!"

"Yes, I copied it. I can't do anything superfluous. I draw what I see, and I don't add anything on." Satoshi took a bite of fried eggs and commented, "Tell your mother that her cooking has, if anything, improved."

"I don't believe you. Your family created all those magical sculptures and things!" Satoshi ignored him and kept eating for a moment as Daisuke's mouth worked in shock. He grabbed the chain holding the two rings together and tugged on it, forcing the taller boy's attention to him. "I said you're lying. You have to prove it, or do a dare."

Satoshi sighed and removed his glasses. They weren't necessary, and they were gathering the sunlight in exactly the wrong way. "Fine. What do I have to do to prove it to you?" He noticed again that Daisuke had followed the path of his glasses again. "Daisuke, eyes front."

"R-right, um, you have to draw… a still life, a landscape, and a portrait. Alright?" Daisuke looked anywhere but directly at him and decided to grow what seemed to be a monster of an appetite.

Satoshi watched him silently for a moment. This was a _really_ bad idea, to be showing Daisuke something like this. It was going to turn out with consequences. It was just too bloody tempting, though. He reached into his schoolbag and brought out a 12"x18" pad of thick paper. "This… is my sketchbook. You're not going to pass judgment on any but the three I show you, agreed?"

Daisuke's fingers twitched, and he nodded with a gulp.

"Now, this is a still life." Satoshi flipped to a picture of the brick building next to his. It was detailed to the smallest winding vine (in charcoal, though, so no color) and even had the rustling of the drapes in the breeze as though it were real.

Daisuke had to hold himself back from touching it and smearing the black everywhere. "But it's perfect."

"No, it's a copy. I drew what was; anyone could get the same with a photograph." Satoshi flipped to another page, a skyscape. "This was last Tuesday's sunset. I used colors because it was pretty, but I couldn't only remember most of it."

"Remember? When were you drawing this?"

"Last night. To relax, you know." Satoshi turned pages again, but snapped the book closed suddenly. "And this concludes the tour of my inventive failings."

"Huh? But… the portrait! You have to show me a portrait, don't you?" Daisuke tugged on his friend's arm, lower lip out in a pout. "Otherwise you lose and I get the ring!"

Satoshi sighed and handed it over. The image on the page was in the same tones as the ring on his finger; red and gold. And the person was _gorgeous_.

"This is…" Daisuke gasped, touching it reverently, "this is me…!"

* * *

Eh-heh, stopped it a bit abruptly... but it was the end of the roof scene, an I din't want to get into all the confusion until next chapter, so... Oh, was I really that vague last chapter? The punishment was the embarrassment of everyone laughing at the soy sauce from ear to ear. Still taking suggestions of secrets or lies they can tell each other...


End file.
